First Take SA

Fear and anxiety are mounting in the student community as investigations into the disappearance of a 19-year-old University of Cape Town student continue. Police say Uyinene Mrwetyana was last seen last Saturday afternoon when she left her Roscommon House residence in Claremont. Mrwetyana family has enlisted the services of private investigator Noel Pratten to help with the search. Two more privat...

A report released by corruption watchdog Corruption Watch has revealed that South African police are the most corrupt public servants. The report also shows that for the first time, corruption in the police has overtaken other sectors such as schools, health and local government. It identifies abuse of power and bribery as the leading forms of corruption in the police.

The KhoiSan6 protest at the UNION BUILDING which was initiated by the KhoeSan Walkers from Port Elizabeth, has lost all moral direction and is now effectively leaderless and should be closed down immidiately. This is according to a leading KhoiSan Activist who says that the protest has sadly now become a cause for negative divisions, that it is no longer educating South Africa about the plight of...

African Global Operations, formerly known as Bosasa, has urged the public and the media to give Gavin Watson's family space and time to grieve after the politically-connected businessman's death. In a brief statement to the media, AGO confirmed the death of their Chief Executive, Gavin Watson. He died yesterday morning when his car hit a concrete barrier on the R21 at the entrance to OR Tambo Airp...

Four people have been killed in a cooking oil tank explosion in Roodekop, Germiston, on Gauteng's East Rand. Ekurhuleni Emergency Services spokesperson, William Ntladi says they responded to the incident, which happened afternoon, after reports of a blaze at the factory.

The leaked CR17 bank statements will once again come under the spotlight when President Cyril Ramaphosa appears before the National Assembly later today. This is the first time Ramaphosa will have to face oral questions in parliament since the details of the campaign funding became public. EFF leader Julius Malema is set to ask the president about details of people in the Office of the President a...

Johannesburg Mayor, Herman Mashaba has hit back at ANC chairperson in the region, Geoff Makhubo, labelling him as one of the most corrupt public servants in the region. Mashaba will today face a motion of no confidence brought by the ANC but he maintains that this is a smoke-screen to prevent him from revealing evidence of alleged corruption that amounts to almost 34 Billion rands within the City...

GOOD party leader Patricia de Lille has welcomed Pretoria High Court judgement which set aside the findings of the Seriti Commission into the arms deal. Judge President Dunstan Mlambo found that the commission failed to probe certain pieces of crucial evidence. De Lille who blew the whistle on the controversial arms deal 20 years ago, says the ruling is important as it demonstrates that no one is...

SABC Board Chairperson, Bongumusa Makhathini, says the public broadcaster is preparing court papers, and will not comment further on the SIU Report until the papers have been lodged in court. The board says it will support the application by the Special Investigating Unit to have the contract between the public broadcaster and Mafoko Security Patrols reviewed and set aside. In a report released ye...

DA leader Mmusi Maimane is threatening to go to court to halt the processing of the National Health Insurance Bill in Parliament. The Bill was tabled in Parliament last week and it has now been referred to the Health Portfolio Committee.

New mayors for eThekwini and uMsunduzi municipalities as well as other ANC political office bearers will be announced within seven days. This follows a decision by the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal to overhaul its entire political leadership in the two municipalities. Among those axed are embattled eThekwini mayor, Zandile Gumede, and Themba Njilo - mayor of KwaZulu-Natal's capital city, uMsunduzi. The ANC...

Police Minister, Bheki Cele, together with International Relations and Cooperation Minister, Dr. Naledi Pandor, have urged people to stop confusing the fight against crime with xenophobia. This after more than 600 foreign nationals were arrested during police raids in the Johannesburg CBD - some, allegedly, for selling counterfeit goods.

COSATU says government has also contributed to unemployment with its back door retrenchments. The labour federation says government and business must not use Fourth Industrial Revolution as an excuse for rising unemployment.

The ANC NEC also resolved that Gauteng road users should pay for E-Tolls. This despite Premier David Makhura's insistence that the call to scrap E-Tolls was not an electioneering gimmick.

Representatives of the South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) and the City of Tshwane are still locked in a meeting over a wage dispute. Hundreds of protesting municipal workers gathered outside Tshwane House in Centurion demanding an 18 percent salary increase, which the union claims was granted to group heads but excluded lower-level employees. The protest brought some areas in the capita...

KhoiSan Revolution Party's Stanley Peterson says they are preparing to approach the courts to get Khoisan land back that was taken before 1913. Peterson says they want part of the Eastern Cape, part of KZN and the whole of the Western Cape

Agriculture body, AgriSA, says there are political reasons behind government's reasoning for land expropriation without compensation. This as the public is being invited to comment on the report that contains a number of recommendations - including the amendment of the constitution to allow for land expropriation without compensation in some circumstances. It also recommends the reconfiguration of...

Embattled asset management company, the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), has appointed businessman Reuel Khoza as its first non-political chairman. Introducing the interim board, finance Minister Tito Mboweni said the tradition of employing the deputy finance minister to the chairman's position was "bad practice". Sindi Mabaso-Koyano, a chartered accountant with experience on several boards in...

Members belonging to the Federation of Unions of South Africa (Fedusa) and the United National Transport Union (Untu) are expected to embark on a nationwide strike this morning. Both unions say their members will march in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban as part of what they call a 'total shut down' of commuter train services across the country. They are demanding improved rail services includin...

The South African National Parks believes it is turning the tide in its fight against poaching in the Kruger National Park. This follows the arrest of nine alleged poachers in different parts of the park over the last three days. The sections where the arrests were made have been the hardest hit areas of rhino poaching over the years. SANPARKS rangers say the poachers were in possession of heavy c...

Hundreds of social housing tenants in various parts of Johannesburg may find themselves homeless from next month. The Johannesburg Social Housing Company - JOSHCO - has issued those owing rent with eviction notices. The notices also inform residents that their electricity will be switched off and that access to water will be limited. The affected areas include Kliptown, City Deep and Fleurhof. Las...

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has tabled a Special Appropriation Bill in the National Assembly, which paves the way for power utility Eskom receive a 60-billion-rand bailout from the current financial year to 2020/21 financial year. Mboweni has also announced cash injections for South African Airways, the SABC and Denel. He says the money will be handed over in chunks, as these entities will be re...

The high court in Pretoria is today set hear an urgent application by public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan to interdict the implementation of the remedial action from public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane's report into the so called SARS rogue unit. Mkhwebane found the unit, which was allegedly aproved by Gordhan, was in violation of the constitution, and has directed President Cyril Ramaphosa...

The associate professor at the Wits school of governance, Ivor Sarakinsky, has warned of a constitutional crisis in South Africa if the court rules against President Cyril Ramaphosa's decision to take the Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane's report on an urgent judicial review. Ramaphosa confirmed his decision to approach the courts in a media briefing in Pretoria last night. Mkhwebane's report f...

South Africans must brace themselves for a busy day as hundreds of activities are expected to take place around the country in celebration of the annual Nelson Mandela International Day today. A businessman from the O R Tambo region has contributed positively to change the lives of the children at Mzomtsha Children's Home in Ngqeleni in the Eastern Cape. Ludumo Mjanyelwa who owns a road constructi...